A Tryst With Philadelphia Escort Tzipporah, AKA Zip

Oh, hello there my loves. Welcome back to our beloved worker interview series, A Tryst With. Today we catch up with the effervescent, the playful, Philadelphia escort and niche fetishist, Tzipporah (Zip)! We talk tattoos, kink and nature of accessibly. Such fun we'll have, come along for the ride!

As sex workers, we're often asked some fairly inappropriate questions. In your opinion, what should non-workers stop asking us, and why?

Non-workers, ESPECIALLY if they're not buyers, should stop asking how we got into sex work. For some people, like myself, it was a decision made out of necessity and nothing else, and the circumstances surrounding it is something I only share with close friends. Plenty of SWs have not-so-fun stories about getting started, and in the moment, I don't want to be forced to choose between making something up or reliving a painful experience. Instead, ask us about our favorite movies, music, food, flowers, etc! That is a much better way to learn about us as individuals :)

What do you think the general public could learn from sex workers?

That freelancing is a full-time job!!! Plenty of non-workers believe that being a SWer is more fun than not, but most of the time it's editing ads and answering emails, and if you do online work as well (which I do!) your days are taken up by being your own talent and creative team and doing all your own PR and admin work. And as a PSO, I'm constantly engaged in phone banking! (Haha)
Sex work is REAL WORK, in that it is what I do to pay the bills, but it's also a JOB, in that it takes time and energy and isn't always enjoyable. But that goes for ALL GIG WORKERS!!! If you admire sex workers for the way they structure their time, you should feel the same way about bike couriers, Lyft drivers, personal shoppers, nannies, cleaners, and everyone working paycheck to paycheck – which is what most SWs are doing as well.

Your tattoo work is lovely. Can you tell us the story behind one of your pieces?

Oooooh I love this question!! I love all my tattoos and I love talking about them!! I have a stick-and-poke pickaxe on the back of my left shoulder that I got in Louisiana when I was 21 and touring as a spoken word poet! I traded the tattoo for a chapbook I'd written and the tattoo itself is a reference to one of my favorite spoken word poems which I'm linking here :) CW: The beginning is very funny and then it gets very sad very fast.

What’s it like navigating sex work spaces as a trans-masc person, knowing that it’s not always inclusive? What could our industry be doing better to support you, and maybe other trans and gender-non-conforming providers?

Being non-binary in the sex industry is really rough, TBQH. Mainstream gay porn overwhelmingly portrays a very specific type of person – white, skinny, hyper-feminine trans and cis women, and white, buff, hyper-masculine trans and cis men. Less opportunities for fat trans-masc people in porn and no specific categories for trans-masculine people on (most!) advertising platforms means that it is that much harder to find, attract, keep, and grow our unique client bases. I know for a fact there's more people out there that would want to book me or buy my content if they knew where to find me as easily as they could find a skinny cis guy! I think that if non-binary people of ALL sizes and races were given more visibility and creative opportunities across the board, it would go a long way towards both the online and full service industries being more welcoming for trans people.

For those readers who are new to kink, can you recommend any books? Fiction or non-fiction?

What a great question! I am by no means an expert on kink-centric media of any kind, but some books I really enjoy are X by Davey Davis, Play Piercing by Deborah Addington, and Sea-Witch by Never Angeline North (BTW, if you read this interview and you have a kink-centric book you love, please share with me!!!)

You specifically welcome diverse clients, which we love to see, and would love to see more of! Can you tell us more about what that looks like for you and how you started that work? We know working against a system isn't easy, even if it's vital!

I live at the intersection of multiple marginalized identities (disabled, transgender, living below the poverty line, my job being illegal) so by nature the people I frequently interact with also suffer from systematic marginalization, and that in itself is the reason I see a diverse clientele – There is nothing about a person's physical ability, identity, life experience, or social status that would make them less appealing for me to date! As long as you are respectful, hygienic, excited to meet me, and tip wait staff well, our connection will be genuine :)

Burnout is a huge issue for sex workers, particularly if we sit at multiple marginalizations. Do you have a favorite way to recharge or take a break when you need it?

My time outside of work consists of volunteering with a books-to-prisoners program, sexy playtime with my friends & lovers, cuddling with my cats, making art, and learning things. Over lockdown I taught myself how to code with HTML/CSS and I'm currently learning how to play chess (and always looking for new opponents!). I have a group of friends that love playing tabletop games and making collages so we often have hang outs where we all work on art or play games together. Some of my good friends are also in this industry, and I always feel better after recharging with fellow transsexual providers.

You describe yourself as a ‘niche fetishist’ - can you tell us a bit about some of your favorite kinks or practices?

What I find fascinating about kinks/fetishes/paraphilia is how diverse they can be within one person or precisely focused in one area. For example, I love peeing! I love peeing in public, holding my pee, and peeing on lovers, but I hate being peed on!!! I don't even like the feeling of peeing as much as I do the power that comes from the submission of those I'm peeing on someone or the agony/ecstasy of my body surviving being pushed to its limits. I have a sub who is into skid marks but only mine and I once had a client who loved stroking my pits but not smelling them. My enjoyment as a fetishist comes from fulfilling my partner's fantasy more than it does the fetish we're engaging in. Everyone's got their own thing, and I think that's hotter and more erotic than any one specific fetish. Mine, though? I particularly enjoy the feeling of scratches on my skin, my body hair being worshiped, giving bite marks and hickies, and the sound of heeled shoes walking across the room.

My ideal date would consist of: midnight swimming (hot tub or ocean, your choice!), delicious food, a kinky romp, sweet cuddles, and belly laughs <3
One of my everyday hobbies is: learning! teach me something you're good at :)
I get a big thrill out of: dancing to live music, the first sip of a robust espresso, trying new food
The way for a client to win me over is: reading my ad so thoroughly as to present me with the perfect gift on our first date - such as a beautiful notebook or a delicious non-alcoholic drink!
My dream vacation is: anywhere with a beach!
The title of my memoir would be: IT HAPPENED TO ME! I Was A Professional One-Night-Stand
For me, the best part of sex is: the intimacy and vulnerability shared between two (or more!) unique individuals

Want to meet Philadelphia escort Tzipporah aka Zip in person?  

Head over to their profile! 👇👇👇